What to Do after College: Great Tips to Overcome After-Graduation Anxiety

25 July, 2018
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Many college students being close to their graduation start panicking about what to do after college. The last days of studying seem like a timer counting down the time left to … what? One of the most horrible things for students to realize is the fact that they have not found the job yet. Many students tend to overthink and fantasize that they will be jobless after college. It is perfectly understandable that getting first job is scary but, on the other hand, who told you that you cannot leave it if you do not like it? Why putting so high hopes on finding a job after college? All in all, do not let self-doubt ruin your plans and even if you will not manage get your dream job right after graduation, you can work hard and strive for success in the future.

One of the things that scatters self-doubt and the lack of confidence in yourself are failed interviews or even failed application processes. Tend to realize: if nobody of 10 recruiters replied to you, it does not mean that you are worthy nothing and the only thing left for you to do after four tough years of studying is to clean dishes or slice pizza in the local restaurant. It is a usual thing that graduates can’t find a job after college immediately. If you lack some skills, experience or competencies, you have time and opportunity to add them on your credentials list.

Positive tips that will help if you are at a loss what to do after college:

It is not bad to have free time to recharge your batteries

One of the core reasons why you worry so much about what to do after college is because you are afraid to lose the hectic pace of your life. It seems to you that you will desperately miss your college life, so the best thing before graduation is to find dream jobs as soon as possible in order to hide the worries and anxiety. Nonetheless, it is perfectly normal to slow down a bit and recharge your batteries after college. There is nothing horrible of you don’t know what to do after college or if you cannot find jobs after graduation straightaway. Don’t you deserve some rest after those sleepless nights preparing for the exams, challenging writing assignments, finals, and so on? Sometimes, the time you have in-between your college and a job is a crucial and precious time to make plans after graduation and understand what you want to do next in your life. It is far better to use this time to think over your future career and lifestyle instead of blindly jumping into the very first vacancy you come across.

Doing everything fast does not equal being successful in it

One of the most widespread misconceptions is to treat yourself like a loser if you do not have a detailed plan of what to do with your life over the next ten years. This aspect directly influences your ability to get the job as fast as possible after the graduation party, or even better – to already have a job as you are celebrating graduation. All in all, the speed at which you can find after college jobs does not influence your future career growth, prosperity or overall success. So, do not let yourself end up in a trap thinking that your group mate has already had his first working day while you so not have any idea how to find a job after college. Do not try to land easily hired jobs where you will snowed under routine duties and totally boring responsibilities. Rather use this gap time after college to rest, recreate yourself, and work on your self-development and the process of advancing your practical and theoretical skills.

You will make your friends green with envy

I spent the last part of my college year being jealous of my friends who already had jobs. All I could do was to keep wondering and asking them, “How long does it take to find a job after graduating?” And when I got the answers, many of them had a plan – and that’s why they landed jobs so easily and so fast. Well, not so fast actually. Regarding the plan, they simply knew earlier what they would do, so their preparation for job applications, resume writing, and job interviews started long before college graduation – to be more precise, at the time I was busy preparing for the finals. What came as a bigger surprise is that they were actually jealous of me because at the time they focused on job search, I concentrated on exams, finals, and other college stuff and had a dream about graduation. All in all, I could sleep, rest, walk, spend time with friends, or ride a bicycle while they were browsing recruiting companies. Since I was not focusing on find a job back at that time, it does not mean that I was completely indifferent about that – I just did the right thing back then, and now I am going to do the things that are right at this very moment.

Do not let the panic overwhelm you – do not overthink about your future career, just live in the moment and do everything possible to make yourself better today than you were yesterday.